Second Half Goals Give Cal Win over Ducks
HOW IT HAPPENED: Maryn Beutler put Oregon on the board first when she found the back of the net for the first time this season. The redshirt junior came out of the gate firing and at the 10:30 mark, her persistence paid off as her high strike found the upper left corner of the goal. The score marked the 4th time this year the Ducks have scored in the first half.
That was just the beginning of an offensive flurry from the Ducks as they had six shots in the first 21 minutes, four of which were on goal. On the defensive end, the Green and Yellow held the potent Cal offense to just a single shot on goal in the first 45 minutes, which came in the 19th minute.
While the first half seemed to be full of offense, the second half took it to a whole different level as four scores were recorded. The Ducks came out of the intermission and had the first two shots of the half as ShayLee Miner and Miranda Schulz each tested the Bears’ keeper, Emily Boyd, in the first eight minutes.
A shifting point came in the 56th minute when Cal took its first shot of the half. That set off a series of events that saw Cal jump out to the lead. The first Golden Bear score came when Arielle Ship received a free kick feed from Kelly Fitzgerald and put it past keeper Halla Hinriksdόttir at the 56:30 mark.
Ship, who is arguably the best offensive player in the conference, seemed almost non-existent in the first half as the Ducks defense held the junior in check. However, she came alive in the 2nd half and had a hand in all three scores for the Bears.
Cal then scored its second goal in the 76th minute when Celeste Boureille scored from the right flank to the far post off assists by Ship and Indigo Gibson. Less than three minutes later, Ship was at it again as she attacked from the left flank. Her score was her 10th goal of the season and put the Bears up 3-1.
Oregon didn’t give up as Marissa Everett almost found the back of the net in the 82nd minute. Her shot was denied by Boyd, who collected a new season-high seven saves on the day.
That didn't deter Everett, who kept the offensive pressure on and it paid off for her just two minutes later. She took a deflection off a Cal defender and dribbled it into the 12 yard line. From there, she put it past Boyd for her second career goal. The Ducks had two more shots in the final five minutes, but were unable to find the back of the net to force overtime.
NOTES AND NUMBERS: Oregon’s two goals mark the second time this season that the Ducks have scored multiple goals in a game. The other time was a 3-0 victory on Sept. 11 against Air Force … Oregon outshot Cal 14-12, it's the 11th time this season that the Ducks have outshot their opponent … The loss is the first time this season that Oregon has scored first and not won the match. Before today, the Ducks were 4-0-0 when scoring first.
QUOTES:
Head Coach Kat Mertz:
“Maryn had a great game today and she showed leadership and good poise on the ball. Her defensive pressure was high and her decision-making was spot on. I thought we set the tone early and dictated play in the first half. Cal came on strong in the second half and we gave up a fixable goal on a set piece. Our team showed good fight and Marissa had a nice goal at the end where she was able to get a good run in behind the defense and beat the keeper. “
UP NEXT: The Ducks will close out the weekend at No. 6 Stanford on Sunday night at 5 p.m. The Cardinal won 3-0 against Oregon State last night and sit atop the Pac-12 at 4-0-0.
